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Customs and Border Protection leads in the fight against forced labor

Few issues in recent memory have received more bipartisan support from Congress, or from the American people, than the fight against forced labor.

Approximately 25 million men, women, and children across the globe are victims of forced labor and human trafficking, which can involve abusive working and living conditions, withholding of wages, isolation, physical and sexual violence, and other appalling exploitation and abuse. The United States has taken a strong stand against forced labor because it is antithetical to our values and core beliefs. 

The reality is that no one wants a sweater that costs a person their life or liberty. But if any element of that sweater originated in Xinjiang, China, chances are, it has, and unfortunately, the complexity of today’s global supply chains provides ample opportunities for those who profit from forced labor to hide their activity. Harrowing testimonies from survivors of Xinjiang detention camps describe workers held in horrific conditions and subjected to torture, forced sterilization, rape, and countless other shocking abuses. 

Knowingly or unknowingly, goods made with forced labor finance transnational criminal organizations and corrupt entities that abuse workers and threaten America’s economic security. At U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), we know threats to economic security are threats to national security, and we have made it a priority to eliminate forced labor from American supply chains.

CBP seized or detained over $485 million worth of forced-labor goods globally in FY21, including seafood, cotton clothing purchased online, and baked goods containing prohibited palm oil. Our efforts have created a ripple effect across the globe. Many countries are working to ban forced labor from their supply chains and improve their labor practices. Because of these efforts, producers have improved living and working conditions for thousands of workers. One company even reimbursed workers for over $30 million in recruitment fees that were trapping them in debt bondage. All of this was a direct result of CBP’s robust forced labor enforcement.

CBP’s enforcement efforts will be bolstered by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). One key provision of the Act, which took effect on June 21, is a “rebuttable presumption” that any goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are tainted by forced labor. This means all goods directly from or connected to the XUAR are prohibited from entering the United States unless the importer can demonstrate by “clear and convincing evidence” that its imports do not include any goods made from forced labor.

CBP facilitates legitimate trade every day and will continue to ensure that goods can enter at our ports and reach American businesses and consumers as quickly as possible. But this law strengthens and expands CBP’s enforcement capabilities and shines a spotlight on the PRC government’s use of forced labor. 

This new law is also critical because forced labor creates unfair competition for domestic industry. It puts American jobs at risk by forcing law-abiding companies and businesses to compete with bad actors who use forced labor to increase their profits by abusing human rights. It can also lead to greater dependence on foreign goods, while limiting economic opportunities here at home.

Upholding our values and protecting the ability of American businesses to compete on a level playing field, innovate, and engage in fair global trade is at the forefront of CBP’s mission. As CBP implements the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, we will continue to pursue any entity, anywhere in the world, that attempts to introduce forced-labor goods into the United States. Those who seek to circumvent the Act will face consequences. But we would strongly prefer to work closely with industry partners — big or small — working to comply with this law.

Consumers can also play an important role by demanding transparency in the supply chains of their purchases and by supporting ethically sourced goods. Ask retailers about their supply chains and take advantage of free resources like ImportYeti and Federal documents like the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor to understand which products are at higher risk of having ties to forced labor. 

At CBP, we want American workers and businesses to thrive through access to a secure global supply chain and the free flow of international trade. We are confident we can effectively balance that goal with our commitment to eliminating forced labor from supply chains and shining a spotlight on this global human rights imperative. 

Chris Magnus is Commissioner of the  U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Source: TEST FEED1

43 percent of voters would give Biden a ‘D’ or ‘F’ on bipartisanship: poll

Forty-three percent of voters would grade President Biden a “D” or an “F” grade on his ability to work in a bipartisan manner, according to a poll commissioned by the Bipartisan Policy Center and conducted by Morning Consult out Thursday.

Thirty percent would give Biden either an “A” or a “B” grade and another 16 percent gave the president a “C.” An additional 12 percent said they did not know or had no opinion.

Democratic members of the House and Senate received slightly less negative marks from voters, with only 38 percent of respondents giving both caucuses a “D” or an “F.” 

Meanwhile, only 20 percent of respondents graded Republican members of the House and Senate with either an “A” or a “B” on bipartisanship, with 44 percent giving Senate Republicans a “D” or an “F” and 43 percent saying the same about House Republicans.

Biden stressed bipartisanship when he campaigned for office but disputes both between the parties and within his own party have stymied many of his priorities.

Congress last month passed and Biden signed a bipartisan gun safety bill, the first such measure in decades.

But Biden has also gone after some members of the GOP as “MAGA Republicans” and as gotten steadily more vocal about trying to lay blame for the lack of legislative progress at Republicans’ feet.

The Bipartisan Policy Center poll was conducted between June 29 and July 1 with 2,005 registered voters surveyed. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Powell, Clarida cleared in Fed probe of financial trades

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and former Vice Chairman Richard Clarida were cleared in an internal probe of their financial transactions, according to a memo from the Fed’s internal watchdog released Thursday.

The Fed’s inspector general (IG) office, an independent internal watchdog, investigated several financial transactions conducted by the bank’s top two officials in 2019 and 2020, but “did not find evidence” they “violated laws, rules, regulations, or policies related to trading activities as investigated by our office.”

The Fed board of governors asked the IG in October to investigate financial trades conducted by Clarida, former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan and former Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren. 

Clarida came under fire after disclosing — and then revising — several purchases and sales of investment funds as the Fed was plotting its initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020. The trades raised questions of whether Clarida moved his money based on his knowledge of the Fed’s plans.

Both Kaplan and Rosengren invested in and traded millions of dollars in stocks and bonds throughout 2020 while the Fed was actively propping up financial markets with unprecedented support.

All three have since stepped down from their positions, though Clarida’s term at the Fed was to end this year regardless. 

The Fed IG also looked into Powell’s financial trades during December 2019 after some media reports raised questions about his conduct.

In a Wednesday memo to Powell, Fed Inspector General Mark Bialek said the watchdog office had not yet completed its probe of Kaplan and Rosengren. But Bialek said the investigations into Powell and Clarida turned up no evidence of serious misconduct.

Bialek said Clarida’s February 2020 trades did not violate insider trading laws or Fed rules about the usage of classified information by top officials. While Clarida failed to report several financial trades via Office of Government Ethics disclosure forms required for all top government officials in 2019 and 2020, Bialek said he effectively settled the issue by filing updated disclosures with OGE and complying with the Fed IG investigation.

“We determined that these omissions do not require further investigation,” Bialek said.

Bialek said a Powell family trust also made five financial transactions during the “blackout period” — a several-week span during which top Fed officials do not talk to the press, cannot purchase or sell securities, and are discouraged from making financial transactions — around the Fed’s December 2019 monetary policy meeting.

Those five financial transactions were trades meant to free up cash for charitable donations the Powell family typically made each December, Bialek wrote. He said the trades happened after Powell’s wife asked the trust’s financial adviser to make funds available for the donations and the adviser failed to remember the terms of the Fed’s blackout period.

“The trust financial advisor subsequently acknowledged that executing the trades during the blackout period was an ‘oversight’ on the team’s part. We found no evidence that you or your spouse had contemporaneous knowledge that the five transactions were executed during the blackout period. As such, we found that you did not violate the FOMC trading blackout rule,” Bialek wrote.

Source: TEST FEED1

Weakening climate policies will degrade public land and waters, not lower gas prices

A common piece of counsel when responding to an emergency is to “never let a good crisis go to waste.” Right now, the oil and gas industry is certainly trying to parlay the war in Ukraine, inflation and high gas prices into support for more oil and gas development. Instead of using this crisis to justify more fossil fuel development, we should seize the moment and reform our leasing system to move the country toward renewables and energy independence as well as protecting our climate and public lands and waters. 

The reality is that we’re never going to drill our way to lower gas prices and energy independence, and, meanwhile, there’s another crisis — climate change — that demands our immediate attention. The good news is that we can protect our public lands and waters while freeing our country from its dependence on fossil fuels. But this starts with reforming the federal oil and gas leasing system. 

High gas prices exact a toll on hard-working Americans, and lawmakers are right to seek solutions. But weakening America’s climate policies will not reduce the price at the pump. Intensifying climate disasters are costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year and ramping up development on public lands will only make this worse. The effects of climate change are not limited to the fires, floods and disasters that are costing communities. They are also an existential threat to the outdoor recreation economy that depends on intact landscapes. Outdoor recreation access and the benefits it provides are helping communities escape the boom-bust cycle of fossil fuel development and attract workers and businesses across industries to more vibrant and sustainable communities. Now is the time to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and protect the climate by investing in renewable energy and ensuring that future development is aligned with the country’s long-term goals to protect the climate and increase conservation and access to public lands.

Last fall, the Department of the Interior shared its “Report on the Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program,” and while we support many of the reforms within it, we believe the agency must go further by ensuring that oil and gas development activities align with the Biden administration’s climate commitments. These goals include conserving 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, a carbon-pollution free electricity sector by 2035, an economy-wide reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions of 50 to 52 percent by 2030, and the promise to end new offshore oil and gas leasing.

Following the administration’s recent decision to resume oil and gas leasing, many of the recommended reforms outlined in the November report were included in the environmental review of ongoing lease sales, including increasing royalty rates, removing lands with low or no potential for oil and gas development from leasing, as well as ensuring tribal consultation and broad community input. We applaud these steps. We also support the administration’s decision to better calculate the social cost of carbon, an important analysis to determine how oil and gas development contributes to climate change. In other positive news, a Bureau of Land Management lease sale in Utah recently moved forward with an exemplary “Recreational Resources Preservation Alternative,” which recognizes how important outdoor recreation is on many of the landscapes that are being offered for lease sales. We believe this option should be institutionalized in all future lease sales. 

Interior’s recent reforms are a positive first step, but the climate crisis is urgent and requires a commensurate response. The administration must align the Interior Department’s oil and gas leasing program with the climate commitments it made during Biden’s first weeks in office. In keeping with the administration’s commitment to a “whole of government” response to the climate crisis, the Interior Department should be setting the curve for vigorous action to protect our climate by pursuing a broad rulemaking that will give durability to long-overdue and much-needed reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing system. These reforms should move purposefully toward making public lands and waters carbon neutral as soon as possible, ensure accountability to those goals, and provide a just transition for fossil fuel dependent communities. 

Hopefully, the Interior Department moves quickly to institute these sensible, modest reforms that recognize the administration’s climate goals and our country’s need to move away from dependence on fossil fuels. Taking action is imperative, for protecting outdoor recreation opportunities and public health, as well as advancing environmental justice, addressing the climate crisis and freeing Americans from our dependency on the volatile fossil fuel industry.

Louis Geltman is a lawyer based in White Salmon, Washington and director of Outdoor Alliance’s policy program. The alliance unites the outdoor recreation community to protect public lands and waters.

Jason Keith is a founding managing director for Public Land Solutions, non-profit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive recreation planning and stakeholder coordination to support effective and sustainable public land solutions.

Source: TEST FEED1

Senate Democrats to roll out bill aimed at decriminalizing weed next week

Senate Democrats are planning to roll out long-awaited legislation to decriminalize marijuana next week, despite expected resistance from Republicans.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who has been leading the legislative push along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), confirmed reports that senators are set to unveil the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, in the coming week.

Bloomberg News was first to report the news Thursday.

“We’re introducing it soon,” Booker told The Hill later on Thursday, adding that the legislation will be “very similar” to draft plan released by the senators last year, though with “very important changes” made.

Senators had previously planned to file a comprehensive reform bill in April, but later announced they’d wait to introduce legislation ahead of their roughly month-long recess in August.

The bill seeks to remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and is expected to include measures aimed at criminal justice reform.

The news comes months after the House voted to pass legislation to nationally legalize marijuana, dubbed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which also included social justice reform measures, and those aimed at helping communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the nation’s drug policies.

The legislation passed swiftly in the lower chamber where Democrats hold control, but the forthcoming marijuana bill faces an uphill battle notching the necessary support in the 50-50 Senate, where at least 60 votes will be needed for approval.

In recent months, Senate Democrats involved in the push say they’ve been in talks with Republicans as they work to gain momentum for the bill, but the effort has already drawn significant resistance from GOP members.

Source: TEST FEED1

Social Security checks expected to jump next year

(KTLA) — It’s not exactly a bright spot, but it is a sign of the times.

It’s a near-certainty that Social Security beneficiaries will receive a record cost-of-living adjustment next year as inflation stubbornly remains at a 40-year high.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index surged by 9.1% in June from a year before.

That’s well ahead of the 8.6% rate seen in May and surpassed the 8.8% rate expected by many economists.

The nonpartisan Senior Citizens League now estimates that Social Security recipients will receive a 10.5% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023.

That would translate to average monthly checks climbing by $175.10 to $1,668.

Just two months ago, the group was forecasting an 8.6% increase for next year.

Nothing is settled. The Social Security Administration tabulates annual cost-of-living adjustments based on third-quarter data, and we’re not there yet.

The next few months, in other words, will be pivotal.

And there’s another wild card: Medicare.

Medicare Part B premiums are typically deducted from Social Security checks. A significant increase in healthcare costs, in other words, could mitigate the cost-of-living bump.

And keep in mind that the bigger Social Security checks get, the faster the program’s trust funds will be depleted.

That doesn’t mean Social Security is going bankrupt, as some are fond of saying. But it does mean the program will have difficulty meeting its financial obligations.

Current estimates say the trust funds will run out of money in 2035, at which point Social Security would be able to meet only about 80% of current benefits.

In the past, such shortfalls were addressed by lawmakers through higher taxes and/or reduced benefits. That’s exactly how the program was designed — a work in perpetual progress.

In the current political climate? Well, it’s all too easy to imagine feckless lawmakers punting on hard decisions and creating a needless crisis.

Source: TEST FEED1

Conservative group finds 'absolutely no evidence of widespread fraud' in 2020 election

Eight prominent conservatives released a 72-page report Thursday refuting claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election in dozens of unsuccessful court cases brought forth by former President Trump and his allies.

The group — which includes former federal judges, Republican senators and Republican-appointed officials — said they reviewed all 64 court cases Trump and his allies initiated challenging the election outcome, saying they had reached an “unequivocal” conclusion that the claims were unsupported by evidence.

“We conclude that Donald Trump and his supporters had their day in court and failed to produce substantive evidence to make their case,” the group wrote.

The eight conservatives repeatedly condemned the election fraud claims, but said they have not changed their allegiance to the Democratic Party and have no “ill will” toward Trump nor his supporters.

The group consists of former Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.); longtime Republican lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg; former federal Judge Thomas Griffith; David Hoppe, chief of staff to then-Speaker Paul Ryan; former federal judge J. Michael Luttig; former federal judge Michael McConnell; Theodore Olson, solicitor general under former President George W. Bush; and former Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).

“We urge our fellow conservatives to cease obsessing over the results of the 2020 election, and to focus instead on presenting candidates and ideas that offer a positive vision for overcoming our current difficulties and bringing greater peace, prosperity and liberty to our nation,” the group wrote.

The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment.

The group’s report includes an analysis of the claims in each court case challenging the election results in six swing states President Biden narrowly won in 2020: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The cases included unfounded widespread claims of improperly counted ballots, rigged voting machines, mail-in ballot irregularities, ineligible voters who casted ballots and blocked access for observers in polling places.

The claims have also been a focus of numerous investigations, including the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and a criminal investigation led by the Fulton County, Ga. district attorney.

Two members of the group, Ginsberg and Luttig, have testified publicly before the House panel. Luttig served as an informal adviser to then-Vice President Pence in the lead-up to Jan. 6, telling Pence he could not constitutionally overturn the Electoral College votes.

The eight conservatives acknowledged the election administration was not “perfect” Thursday, noting a relatively small number of cases where authorities found irregularities.

“But there is absolutely no evidence of fraud in the 2020 presidential election on the magnitude necessary to shift the result in any state, let alone the nation as a whole,” they wrote. 

“In fact, there was no fraud that changed the outcome in even a single precinct,” the report continued. “It is wrong, and bad for our country, for people to propagate baseless claims that President Biden’s election was not legitimate.”

Beyond the court cases, the conservatives’ report also discussed post-election reviews conducted outside of the legal system by the six swing states, all of which the group said also “failed to support” Trump’s allegations.

In one example, the group noted the Arizona’s state senate’s review of Maricopa County election results, which was conducted by private firm Cyber Ninjas. The firm’s final analysis found 99 additional votes for Biden and 261 fewer votes for Trump, according to the report.

Cyber Ninjas later shut down after a judge ordered it to pay $50,000 per day in fines until it turned over public records to The Arizona Republic.

In another example, the conservatives referenced a full manual recount of Georgia ballots by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), which confirmed Biden’s victory in the state.

Trump had pressured Raffensperger in a now-infamous call to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s victory in the state.

“There is no principle of our republic more fundamental than the right of the people to elect our leaders and for their votes to be counted accurately,” the conservatives wrote. “Efforts to thwart the people’s choice are deeply undemocratic and unpatriotic.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump announces death of first wife Ivana

Ivana Trump has died at 73, according to her ex-husband, former President Trump.

“I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City,” the ex-president said in a statement posted on Truth Social on Thursday.

“She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life,” he said.

The mother of the former commander in chief’s three eldest children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — the Czech Republic-born Ivana married the then-New York real estate developer in 1977.

In his statement, Trump called the couple’s children his ex-wife’s “pride and joy.”

“She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her,” Trump said. “Rest in peace, Ivana!” the 76-year-old former president wrote.

While the pair’s contentious divorce played out in the 1990’s in the New York tabloids, the Trumps both described their relationship as friendly in recent years.

“He is my best supporter,” Ivana Trump said in 2016, when the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host had launched his White House bid.

“I think he would be a great president,” she said at the time.

Trump penned a book about motherhood, “Raising Trump,” in 2017.

In an interview to promote the book, she advised keeping kids “busy, busy, busy.”

“Because if you keep your kids busy, they have no time to get in trouble,” she said.

In a widely reported statement from the Trump family about the matriarch’s death, Ivana was called “a survivor.”

“She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination,” the statement said.

“She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren.”

—Updated at 3:57 p.m.

Source: TEST FEED1

Report lists the states where the housing shortage is lowest

Nearly all states saw an increase in housing underproduction during a seven-year period in the mid-2000’s, though some states fared better than others.  

A new report from Up For Growth shows the U.S. fell short of meeting housing needs across the country by more than 3 million homes in 2019 — up from 1.6 million in 2012.  

“While this affects everyone, it is particularly burdensome for working families, people with low incomes, and people of color,” the report read. “In fact, racial and ethnic discrimination has been embedded in housing policy for over a century.” 

“To create access to opportunity and a housing system that serves everyone, policymakers must prioritize racial, ethnic, and economic equity outcomes and actively reverse the nation’s history of exclusionary policies,” the report continued.  

During this seven-year period, 47 states and the nation’s capital saw underproduction grow, and another six states moved into the underproduction category. But some states and metros were able to manage the shortage.  

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. 

Although America’s metro areas also saw a decrease in housing production, some, like Nashville and Anchorage, showed improvements from 2012. Nashville experienced a 51.4 percent reduction in underproduction from 2012.  

Moreover, in 2019 housing production in Mississippi fell short by 1,000 homes. This is compared to California, which underproduced by 978,000.   

Vermont was the only state to see an improvement, while only 25 regions of the country experienced a decrease in their housing deficits. 

Here are the states with the lowest housing underproduction in 2019, according to the report.  

1. Mississippi: 1k 

2. Vermont; Montana: 3k 

3. Rhode Island 4k 

4. Arkansas; Kansas: 5k 

5. Iowa; Nebraska: 8k 

Source: TEST FEED1